Arsene Wenger believes Alexis Sanchez is as revered in Chile as David Beckham once was in England and insists the Arsenal forward will bounce back from his World Cup heartbreak.
Wenger likened the pressure on his star player to the hype that used to surround Beckham, who became England's villain for his red card at the 1998 World Cup before going on to lead the national team as captain.
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"I would say you have in every generation a player who carries the pressure of expectation of a nation," the Arsenal boss said, according to Sky Sports.
"In France it was (Zinedine) Zidane. In England it was Beckham. We had other players in the team but it was Beckham. Why not (Steven) Gerrard? I don't know. But it was Beckham.
"In Chile it's Sanchez. In Argentina of course it's (Lionel) Messi. It looks like that there is somebody there in a national team who has to carry the pressure and absorb it and protect a little the rest of the team. Remember 1998 when Beckham has been sent off after (kicking) Diego Simeone, he has been slaughtered here, he's not been picked for the first two qualifiers after for the European qualifiers.
"He has been treated in this country like a guy who has killed somebody. These players have to take both the positives and the negatives as well." the Frenchman added.
Sanchez will miss out on the game's greatest tournament next summer after a 3-0 defeat to Brazil left Chile sixth in South America's qualifying group. The result is a crushing blow for Chile, who have won back-to-back Copa America titles and many admirers en route to the last 16 of the 2014 World Cup and brought Sanchez to the attention of many outside his native country.
The Chile international was not due to arrive back in London until Thursday afternoon and it remains to be seen whether the forward is physically, and mentally, ready to face Watford on Saturday.
"He is as well in a very difficult mind. Chile just won the Copa America twice and now they don't even go to the World Cup," Wenger said, as per the Evening Standard.
"Sanchez is 29 at the end of the year, so the next one he will be 33. He expected to go. Certainly [it is] a big disappointment for him. But I believe to play at the top level as well, it is part of dealing with that kind of disappointment."
